Stress and Hidden Challenges

"In the case of incarceration, it makes more sense to think of the situation as ambiguous presence. That is, the father's ability to participate in family decisions, be an active member of the family, and contribute emotionally and/or financially is ambiguous: It is vague, unclear, indefinite, and usually confused" (as cited in Day 2005 p. 347).

A spouse with severe depression and/or other mental health issues can be considered ambiguous presence. Both the partner and the children maybe unclear of what role the adult with mental health issues can contribute to keeping the family functioning. I have a family member who orginally known as the strong, healthy and unquestioned authority in his home reduced to being dependant on his wife and even his children for emotion support when severe depression set in after a car accident. He was in traction for crushed vertabre and had a two broken arms.

Families of released prisoners face problems of social stigmas and isolation from community resources. The Double ABC-X model can be applied to this situation with the resources or lack of resources as the B factor. The C factor is the meaning or definition of the individual such as what role will he play as a functioning family member after release from prison. His "A" factor or stressors can be finding a job although he is an ex-convict or renewing a relationship with his children. "Patterson (1988) has further revised the double ABC-X model to include the community system as well as the individual and family systems. This complex form of analysis requires scholars to consider the (a) stressors, (b) resources, and (c) meanings/definitions of the individual, family, and community systems as well as their interactions" ( as cited in Day 2005 p. 18). Families also face trust issues, such as the spouse maybe questioning what prison may have done to him psychologically. Can he control his anger if the children are misbehaving? What kind of behavior can be expected of him if he struggles to find work and our finances get worse? Will the children be harassed at school if they find out their father was just released from prison?